1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parking assisting device, and more particularly, to a device for guiding a driver a driving operation upon parking through sound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed a device for showing a rear view of a vehicle on a monitor if a driver becomes unable to see a target place due to a blind spot of the vehicle when the vehicle is moving backward. For example, JP 02-036417B discloses a rear watch monitor device for a vehicle constructing of: a television camera for taking the rear view of a vehicle; a monitor television for showing a video taken by the television camera; a sensor for outputting an information signal relating to a tire steering angle; and a circuit for generating a marker signal in response to an information signal from the sensor and superimposingly displaying a marker (indicator) on a television screen. In this device, steering angle data of tires and marker position data along a backward movement of a vehicle corresponding to the steering angle are accumulated in a ROM, and an estimated backward movement track of the vehicle corresponding to the steering angle at that time is superimposed on the video image taken by the television camera to be displayed on the television screen as a line of the marker.
According to such a device, an estimated backward movement track of a vehicle corresponding to a steering angle is displayed on the screen of the monitor television together with a rear view such as a state of a road when the vehicle is moving backward. Therefore, a driver can operate a steering wheel to move the vehicle backward while keeping an eye on the television screen without turning backward.
However, for example, when a vehicle is parked in lateral or parallel, with the conventional rear watch monitor device, it is difficult for the driver to determine timing and a degree of a steering angle for a driving operation for the parking by merely looking at the rear view of the vehicle and an estimated backward movement track of the vehicle on the television screen, resulting in a problem in that the parking can not be sufficiently assisted.
Also, with the conventional rear watch monitor device, the driver needs to perform a driving operation while watching the television screen. Thus, there also arises a problem in that the driver must pay attention to the safety around the vehicle to cause a large burden on the driver. Further, it is desired that the device for assisting parking may easily be applied to various vehicles without depending on the types of the vehicles.
The present invention has been made in view of solving the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a parking assisting device capable of being applied to various types of vehicles and of accurately guiding a driver a driving operation upon parking without imposing a large burden on a driver.
In order to solve the above-mentioned object, a parking assisting device according to the present invention includes: a yaw angle detecting means for detecting a yaw angle of a vehicle; a reference setting means for setting a reference position of the yaw angle; a storing means for storing data that is unique to the vehicle and which is rewritable; a controller for specifying a position of the vehicle based on the yaw angle and the data that is unique to the vehicle; and a guiding means for providing parking assistance information to a driver based on the position of the vehicle specified by the controller.
It is preferable that the parking assistance information includes information in which: the vehicle is moved forward or backward in a state where a fixed steering angle is maintained; thereafter, the vehicle is steered in an opposite direction in a state where the vehicle is stopped and then is moved backward in the state where the fixed steering angle is maintained; and finally the vehicle is parked in a target parking space.
The fixed steering angle is a maximum rudder angle, and the data unique to the vehicle may include a value of a minimum turning radius.
Initial writing or rewriting of the storing means may be performed via a recording medium or a network.